My Living Doll (1964-65) Anyone Know If Missing 15 Episodes Were Ever Located?

[Black Sheep One]

Hi,
I have a question regarding the following TV series:

My Living Doll (1964-65) starring Julie Newmar and Bob Cummings.
MPI Home Video released Volume 1 (11 episodes) back in 2013
but I haven't heard anything about a Volume 2.

Peter Greenwood of Jack Chertok Productions last I heard was searching
for the remaining 15 episodes original 16 mm. film prints from collectors
but I haven't learned anything recent about his progress. Has the
project been abandoned? Just curious.

Does anyone here have any thoughts on the subject?

It would be nice if those last 15 episodes (they were after Bob Cummings
either quit or was fired from the show) could be found so this collection
could possibly be completed at some point.

Thanks. Black Sheep One.

P.S. I E-mailed Julie Newmar back in 2013 and she responded.
She was very nice. She didn't have to reply but she did.

[TeeVeeCloset]

Originally Posted by Black Sheep One

Hi,
I have a question regarding the following TV series:

My Living Doll (1964-65) starring Julie Newmar and Bob Cummings.
MPI Home Video released Volume 1 (11 episodes) back in 2013
but I haven't heard anything about a Volume 2.

Peter Greenwood of Jack Chertok Productions last I heard was searching
for the remaining 15 episodes original 16 mm. film prints from collectors
but I haven't learned anything recent about his progress. Has the
project been abandoned? Just curious.

Does anyone here have any thoughts on the subject?

It would be nice if those last 15 episodes (they were after Bob Cummings
either quit or was fired from the show) could be found so this collection
could possibly be completed at some point.

Thanks. Black Sheep One.

P.S. I E-mailed Julie Newmar back in 2013 and she responded.
She was very nice. She didn't have to reply but she did.

Great Question, I always a bit Leary of a volume one, i bought MLD volume 1, also may i add if a collection two of "He's Dickens, He's Fenster" ever come out? Same situation?

[Black Sheep One]

Originally Posted by TeeVeeCloset

Great Question, I always a bit Leary of a volume one, i bought MLD volume 1, also may i add if a collection two of "He's Dickens, He's Fenster" ever come out? Same situation?

Hi,
Well, I checked Amazon for "He's Dickens, I'm Fenster" and the only available DVD item is that 50th anniversary Collector's Edition (first 16 episodes). It came out in 2012. It's still for sale but is a little pricey. There's no indication of anything remotely close to a Volume 2. I would imagine collectors have at least some of the other episodes that haven't been officially released yet.

Okay, here's the situation. Usually when a classic (old) TV series is released on DVD by a studio or a company particularly if it's more than one season, further releases of that show depend on the sales from the initial release. If the set didn't sell sufficiently enough for the studio to make a profit, there are no additional releases of it made after that. Then another factor is finding good quality original film prints as a source.

This is what has happened to My Living Doll, which was released as Volume 1 back in 2013. Last I heard, the afore-mentioned Mr. Greenwood of Jack Chertok Productions has been involved in a worldwide search for the remaining presently missing original 16 mm. film prints for MLD in which
Bob Cummings did not appear, having been replaced by Jack Mullaney as the male lead as Mr. Cummings was either fired by the powers-that-be at the network or quit depending on what article you read. To date, reportedly Mr. Greenwood has been unsuccessful but came close. As much as I hate to admit it, I seriously doubt by now they will ever turn up, unless collectors who have the prints come forward and cooperate so this show can get completed before sole surviving lead Julie Newmar ultimately passes away.
The original 35 mm. film prints btw were destroyed in a 1994 Northridge, CA earthquake, having been ruined because of water damage in the vault in which they had been stored, not burned by the late Mr. Chertok as has been previously reported in past. The latter story according to his estate is not and never has been true.

That brings me to another issue that comes up when it concerns official DVD releases of classic TV series: background music ownership rights legal disputes. Two examples of this are series I have been searching for,
specifically Lee Majors' show The Fall Guy (1981-1986) by Fox and
Name Of The Game (1968-1971) from Universal.

Fox only released Season 1 of The Fall Guy in the US and Season 2 in the UK. The subsequent Seasons 3-5 have not been released and probably won't be realistically speaking. The story goes that Season 1 did not sell so Fox didn't ever release Season 2 or the others. I was surprised they actually did release Season 2 in the UK. I've been trying to locate Seasons 3-5 and had to settle for collectors sets (1 episode from Season 5 is incomplete and nobody has yet to find a complete version of it). This is as close as myself and Fall Guy fans can get to the entire series unfortunately. Also there are
problems with the background music, which has either been edited out completely (as in the pilot episode) or changed.

Same problem with Name Of The Game. Presently over half of the 76 episodes can't be currently aired on TV in syndication because of the
background music. The same problem affects a DVD release. Originally
Timeless Media Group (bought out by Shout Factory in 2016) intended to
release Season 1 on DVD in 2014. Unfortunately, they could not get releases from the owners of the background music so the DVD project was at first postponed then cancelled entirely (and TMG would have released all 3 seasons of it). So the alternative for fans has been collector sets consisting of either Encore Mystery/Cozi TV airings (the 35 episodes or so that have been aired in syndication reruns) or substandard quality copies from B & W/ color 16 mm. film prints/VHS transfers that collectors have miraculously located, some without the series opening credits/theme song and with
age/film deterioration-related issues. In this case also, as with My Living Doll and Fall Guy, the fans have to take whatever they can get in any condition.

Hope this clarifies the matter. Good luck finding the remaining episodes of I'm Dickens, He's Fenster. Thanks for reading. Sorry for the length.

Black Sheep One

[TeeVeeCloset]

Originally Posted by Black Sheep One

Hi,
Well, I checked Amazon for "He's Dickens, I'm Fenster" and the only available DVD item is that 50th anniversary Collector's Edition (first 16 episodes). It came out in 2012. It's still for sale but is a little pricey. There's no indication of anything remotely close to a Volume 2. I would imagine collectors have at least some of the other episodes that haven't been officially released yet.

Okay, here's the situation. Usually when a classic (old) TV series is released on DVD by a studio or a company particularly if it's more than one season, further releases of that show depend on the sales from the initial release. If the set didn't sell sufficiently enough for the studio to make a profit, there are no additional releases of it made after that. Then another factor is finding good quality original film prints as a source.

This is what has happened to My Living Doll, which was released as Volume 1 back in 2013. Last I heard, the afore-mentioned Mr. Greenwood of Jack Chertok Productions has been involved in a worldwide search for the remaining presently missing original 16 mm. film prints for MLD in which
Bob Cummings did not appear, having been replaced by Jack Mullaney as the male lead as Mr. Cummings was either fired by the powers-that-be at the network or quit depending on what article you read. To date, reportedly Mr. Greenwood has been unsuccessful but came close. As much as I hate to admit it, I seriously doubt by now they will ever turn up, unless collectors who have the prints come forward and cooperate so this show can get completed before sole surviving lead Julie Newmar ultimately passes away.
The original 35 mm. film prints btw were destroyed in a 1994 Northridge, CA earthquake, having been ruined because of water damage in the vault in which they had been stored, not burned by the late Mr. Chertok as has been previously reported in past. The latter story according to his estate is not and never has been true.

That brings me to another issue that comes up when it concerns official DVD releases of classic TV series: background music ownership rights legal disputes. Two examples of this are series I have been searching for,
specifically Lee Majors' show The Fall Guy (1981-1986) by Fox and
Name Of The Game (1968-1971) from Universal.

Fox only released Season 1 of The Fall Guy in the US and Season 2 in the UK. The subsequent Seasons 3-5 have not been released and probably won't be realistically speaking. The story goes that Season 1 did not sell so Fox didn't ever release Season 2 or the others. I was surprised they actually did release Season 2 in the UK. I've been trying to locate Seasons 3-5 and had to settle for collectors sets (1 episode from Season 5 is incomplete and nobody has yet to find a complete version of it). This is as close as myself and Fall Guy fans can get to the entire series unfortunately. Also there are
problems with the background music, which has either been edited out completely (as in the pilot episode) or changed.

Same problem with Name Of The Game. Presently over half of the 76 episodes can't be currently aired on TV in syndication because of the
background music. The same problem affects a DVD release. Originally
Timeless Media Group (bought out by Shout Factory in 2016) intended to
release Season 1 on DVD in 2014. Unfortunately, they could not get releases from the owners of the background music so the DVD project was at first postponed then cancelled entirely (and TMG would have released all 3 seasons of it). So the alternative for fans has been collector sets consisting of either Encore Mystery/Cozi TV airings (the 35 episodes or so that have been aired in syndication reruns) or substandard quality copies from B & W/ color 16 mm. film prints/VHS transfers that collectors have miraculously located, some without the series opening credits/theme song and with
age/film deterioration-related issues. In this case also, as with My Living Doll and Fall Guy, the fans have to take whatever they can get in any condition.

Hope this clarifies the matter. Good luck finding the remaining episodes of I'm Dickens, He's Fenster. Thanks for reading. Sorry for the length.

Black Sheep One

Great Post again, I love the length, tho i did know much about sales, music clearances, etc......been in TV production for 40 years this June 2020! But for other younger posters, invaluable information!!!! Bravo!

I love buying the "oddball" series that never get much or any syndication, some for obvious reasons.....like missing/destroyed masters.

I did buy originally the "Im Dickens, He's Fenster" and never did expect any future volumes of that or MLD. Sadly since the market is changing, commercial releases of the classics are drying up in demand and sadly so is the MOD situation.

Thank you again, great answer and stay healthy during these times of turmoil.

[1960'sTVfan]

Leonard Stern passed away near the time the 1st volume of I'm Dickens He's Fenster was released so I've wondered if that could be a reason why the 2nd volume hasn't been released. It's a one season sitcom so they should have just released the full series in one shot, one volume and be done with it. I didn't buy the 1st volume because I was skeptical about the chances of volume 2 being released.

I'd like to see the full series, all 30 episodes of The Cara Williams Show get a DVD release but I've mostly lost hope with that one.

[Hazel Anyday]

Indeed, very interesting and a bit sad too. Shows should be released without any concern about the many odd dead guys it took to make up that show. Figuring who gets their share of pennies for work they did 60 years ago and are now dead is asinine and greed carried out to the extreme. A show is a complete entity and all the people involved in the separate tiny details of what it took to make that show shouldn't be considered worthy forever more now of continuous and never-ending payments. The guy who put out the pencil holder on a desk in a shot or the guy who put a picture on a wall or the guys that painted the set or the make-up people that worked their wonders on the mugs of actors, all these and many more details that go into making a program should not be considered worthy of eternal payments.

A job I did 40 years ago, should I expect to be forever more paid for it? These people and I were paid at the time we did the work, we shouldn't expect to be paid thruout eternity for jobs completed decades ago as we may now lie in our graves. If I built a house should I be paid for it everytime someone buys it? The whole idea is ridiculous. Shows are whole and complete entities once they're done. This includes the music and the set designs and the cars and the telephones used, whoever owns the rights to the complete entity of the show is the only one that should be paid. Not every single human being it took to create it. Once your work on a show is done, that's it, you don't get paid thru-out eternity for a one-time job. Shows should remain untouched, music and all and not be divided up into never ending slices of pie.

[Black Sheep One]

I agree with Hazel Anyday on the subject of retail DVD releases of TV shows and why subsequent seasons of a series or a complete series are never released by a studio.

Another issue is the fact that the current market targeted are 18 to 35 year old people, most of whom have either never heard of, never seen, and probably don't even care about these classic "old" TV series, particularly if they were 1 to 3 season TV series which I personally happen to be interested in. The older audience they were originally intended for--from 35 on up--would remember them and want to buy these sets to relive past days of watching these shows like yours truly. Most of this stuff and that includes the rare 1 to 3 season shows that usually got cancelled because they were scheduled against more "popular" TV series that came on at the same time, didn't get the ratings of course, have a limited audience--those parties who are interested--and generally don't sell or have low sales if they do sell. In other words, not everyone is buying them and the profit generated is not enough for the studios to warrant further releases. And it affects the longer running shows too; same principle. It's all about the money, and like Hazel Anyday has said, also pure greed, not about the shows or how popular they were or how many fans they have still interested in seeing them. This is why for example Seasons 2-5 of The Fall Guy (Lee Majors) were never released in the US. Season 1 reportedly did not sell. The younger folks--today's market--were simply not interested in it, the majority anyway, and those who did buy it were not enough to sufficiently motivate Fox to release further seasons of the series on DVD. Only Season 1 is even available on streaming services so it's just not DVD that's affected. I can say this because I am in the "over 50 closing in on 60" demographic, which the studios in general have no interest in whatsoever apparently. Undoubtedly our age group as far as the studios and TV networks (NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox, whoever....) go today doesn't count any more unfortunately, and that my friends, is a sad state of affairs. More of that "out with the old, in with the new" garbage.

And one last point; when plans were announced for a 2014 official DVD release of Name Of The Game (1968-71) 90-minute drama series then
it was postponed and cancelled entirely (by Shout Factory) much to the disappointment of NOTG fans, I was subsequently told by a reliable
source with contacts in the industry (and TV networks) that the Season 1 release was ready to go, but one or two people with the background music rights ownership refused to sign consent to release the series on DVD. They wanted more money from Universal, and the studio naturally said no. Once again, greed rears its ugly head. And this was a show with a then-unprecented production budget of a half-million dollars per episode back in the day, which would be considered a drop in the bucket in 2020. It's no wonder that NOTG fans have to settle for the episodes from past TV airings or aged original film prints (VHS transfers) in collectors sets (most of which are 53 episodes and pilot movie from 1966) and whatever episodes are missing from those thanks to individual collectors who just happened to miraculously locate them. (12 episodes are as of this writing still missing btw, 13 counting an incomplete copy of the Season 3 episode Battle Of Gannon's Bridge. Not shown in syndication reruns because of the same aforementioned "background music ownership rights" legal dispute that got the official DVD release of the series cancelled).

Quite frankly, I'm surprised that the Final Season (Season 20) of Gunsmoke is being released by CBS sometime this month under the current circumstances. Then again, Gunsmoke has a much bigger fanbase from what I understand (I have Seasons 1-19 with Season 20 pre-ordered from Amazon) and it doesn't necessarily hurt for a fan to be part of the DVD production team. So not all of the older TV shows are being ignored by the studios.

Thanks again for the responses.

Black Sheep One